The Desert is Barren, and That is the Way it Shall Remain
by Gnomish Wrench of Reorx
Summary: A foolish hiker named David gets lost in the desert on route 111 after a less than savory encounter. His supplies dwindle and he grows more and more tired with each step. His beloved Pokemon is back at the Pokemon center recovering from a battle. This is an experience that he will never forget, for he shall not live long enough to forget it.


"Ah, what an incredible find!" The hiker, David, exclaimed as he saw a great tower in the distance. David was awestruck, he hadn't heard of this tower before. He was from the Kanto region and sight-seeing on route 111. "Truly a masterpiece!" He continued. He had come based on a suggestion by his friend Dusty. Without a second thought, he ran towards the tower. He couldn't wait to see what sort of things were in the mysterious building. Did an ancient race leave behind some sort of clue to their culture? Or perhaps something even more interesting, perhaps forbidden, dwelled in that building. No matter what laid within, David couldn't wait to see it. There would, no doubt, be elaborate carvings on the walls, much like the Ruins of Alph in Johto. Mysterious decorations everywhere one looked. David could scarcely contain his excitement. He did not know anything about this tower. He did not know that this particular tower was the strange and elusive Mirage Tower. How could he? The Mirage Tower had vanished without a trace years ago. The only one who seemed to know anything left the region only a little after the tower disappeared. David put down his bag by the entrance and went inside. Arceus help him. What he saw inside was worse than he ever dreamed of. The walls were all bare. Even the Sandshrew that inhabited the tower were more decorated than the walls and floors. It was the single most anticlimactic thing he had ever experienced in his life. "My goodness! It's like these walls were soaked in the acid of a Grimer for 100 years." Just as he finished his thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. It moved very quickly. Faster than he ever thought possible. At first he thought it was nothing, but when it rushed by again, he knew that this was no figment of his imagination. Frightened, he backed up. He continued until he was up the wall. The thing slowed down. He saw a distinctive red light. It glowed manically, like the eye of the Kraken warning sailors of their impending doom. Even a greater man would have trembled in fear, so it was no surprise that David fell to his knees. The eldritch red light grew closer and closer. As it got closer David realized with horror that this thing was a Dusclops. Even though it had a name now, the general fear was still there. The glowing red eye, the white wisp highlighted by the red light, the white hands poised almost like a scientist, obsessed with his work, about to cut into his newest specimen. This was not nearly the most frightening thing. A great void was opening in the center of the Dusclops. David turned away; he screaming wildly. Little could change his fate now. A new light illuminated the darkened room. The awful rumors were true. He was having enough of a hard time not being sucked up by the void, he could not spend any more time in the light of the spectral flame, there would be no way he could keep his soul. He was extremely lucky as just as he was about to surrender his spirit, a wild Sandslash stumbled on a rock and crashed loudly to the ground. It was just long enough for David to get away. The Sandslash was not so lucky however, he could hear the shrieks of the poor Pokémon as he ran off. Perhaps on the other side David would properly thank that Sandslash, hopefully that would be quite a while from now. The desert was hot, and by the time David fully realized that his ordeal was over, he had lost any bearings he had. He had only just snagged his bag by the entrance as he ran off. He would have enough food and water for a few days, but after that…. He didn't want to think about that, he pushed any thoughts of dying to the back of his head. Surly the desert wasn't that big. Or was it? Thoughts of his eventual demise crept back to center stage. Even as a child he had heard stories of people wandering in circles in the desert, or in the forest. To some degree it didn't matter if it was small, he could still end up as little more than a skeleton, his flesh long since eaten by countless wild Pokémon. He looked and looked for his trusty compass, but it must have fallen out when he quickly grabbed his bag, now the prospect of wandering in circles seemed all the more real. He thought back to his beloved Rattata that he had left in the Pokémon center. David and his Rattata had fought valiantly against another trainer, and now Rattata was recovering. Although they had lost the battle, it scarcely seemed to matter now. Day turned into night, the silver moon rose up above the sand and bathed everything in a cold, unforgiving light. It was a waning crescent now, in just a few days it would offer no light at all. David started a campfire; all manner of small Pokémon gathered about to see the small red flames charge towards the sky. David welcomed the company. He had spent many-a-day camping with his beloved Pokémon, as well as wild ones. He decided that instead of travling during the night, he would travel during the day, because for some reason all of the campers, ruin maniacs, interviewers, and black belts would go home at night, even if it would be far more practical to camp, so he thought that if he traveled during the day it would be easier to be spotted. After all, this desert wasn't that big? Was it? David also dismissed that thought from his mind. He would be spotted, he was sure of it. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite right. The desert was very big, and before he knew it he was running out of rations. Even after spreading them out as much as he could, he was still falling short. He conserved his energy as much as possible, but the main problem was water. He had run out just a few days ago. Even though he had enough food rations to last another two or three days, if he did not find water soon…. This would be his last day in the desert, and his last chance to be reunited with his Pokémon. He was already having headaches from dehydration. Because of this he gave up his policy of sleeping at night and went on to the more commonly practiced sleeping during the day. The wind kicked up a sandstorm, and when David awoke he had to dig his way out from a pile of sand that had plopped down on him. When he finally made it out the sand stung his eyes, almost as if the sand wanted to slowly whittle them down to nothing. Even through this trial he pushed onward. This would be his last night of activity, after this, he would be too weak to do anything. The sand moved in odd shapes in the desert wind, dancing slowly across the plain like an exotic performer. Shadow and sand merged into one as the performance grew more and more heated. The headaches of dehydrations and the weakness that came with it crippled the fallen form. His eyes were shut tight against the raging tempest. Even so, that tricky sand still infiltrated his eye lids and sabotaged his soft eyes. David became so occupied trying to keep the sand out of his eyes that when the storm stopped he didn't notice for quite a while longer. The small waning crescent was a welcome sight to behold. David saw a blur, from the sand no doubt. Everything was still quite blurry, and David still had mountains of sand in his eyes. David hadn't adjusted to the new weather patterns nearly as well as the desert did. Just because the storm was over, his body still screamed for water. His pace slowed. His eyes still blurred, no matter how hard he tried to wipe out the sand that blur still stayed at the edge of his vision. He tried to raise his spirits by thinking about how he would see his friend again, and oh the reunion they would have. No doubt his beloved Rattata would spring from Nurse Joy's arms straight into his! He was probably worried by now. Very worried. David's day dreams were shortened by the fact that David realized that the blur in his vision was getting worse. It was getting darker, and larger. His resolve to find his way back strengthened, and David quickened his pace as much as he could. He feared losing his vision entirely if he didn't get it checked out immediately. Rattata would have to wait. Unfortunately, due to the greater speed, David did not realize that a Trapinch nest was right in front of him. David fell. He landed face first in the sand. Sand covered him thickly now. When he opened his eyes he saw another blur. He no longer thought that they were simply spots caused by damage to his eyes. As if to prove his theory, another joined the group. David was truly frightened now. He picked himself up as fast as he could and he ran faster than he ever thought possible. Once again, to David's dismay, the additional speed was short-lived. He soon found himself out of breath, his body screaming louder than ever for water. The Blurs soon joined him, only this time there were many more than three. They were tall and humanoid. David was only able to see their basic outline since the moon had once again hidden its face behind the clouds. When the mood did reveal itself David wished it hadn't. He was surrounded by Cacturnes. He had heard of just what Cacturnes did to people, but once again, he wished he was blissfully ignorant. They approached him. He stewed in a puddle of his own fear. Not fully knowing what would happen next, and for that he was grateful. Dear readers, I would now like to remind you that there are fates far worse than death. There are fates that would make death tremble, and cry out for mercy. Although many of us will never ever experience such horrid things, no doubt for the best, we will never truly understand what it is like to exist in such a wretched form. For, if we ever did understand these things, we would no doubt collapse into a screaming pile of what once was a man, or perhaps we would be lucky, so to speak, and never remember such terrible truths for as long as we existed. There is an ending to this tale, one far too terrible for me to speak of. But, if you truly must know the fate of the Hiker, David, perhaps on a night that is only lit by the light of a waning moon you might find a Yamask, delighting in his own company. Although his greatest tortures happened long ago, he may still weep. He may cry or simply laugh madly, but if you want to gain knowledge that no man dares to speak of, ask him. None know the terrible secrets he may tell. Just remember, the desert is barren, and that is the way it shall remain. 


End file.
